Tomorrow
by The Queen's Saviour
Summary: Emma and Snow return to Storybrooke and Emma notices that Henry is still being mean to Regina. She decides to tell Henry about Cora to make him understand his mother is not 'just evil'. This is Swan Queen.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: this started as a prompt on Tumblr.**

"**Can you write Emma returning to SB and Henry still being an ass to Regina so Emma talks to him about everything she's learned while in FTL?"**

Emma had never been happier to be somewhere than she was when she found her way through the portal and into Regina Mills' spacious living room. Sure, bonding time with her mom in a land of fairy tales had been fun… in a way. But nothing beat being back with her kid and the people she _knew._

They had spent a few weeks in the Enchanted Forest and Emma, now that she was finally home again, had _no_ desire to ever return there. She was fairly sure her parents would want to, though. And that worried her a little. But she'd do that another day, worrying, that is. For now there were some other things that called for her attention. Henry, for one.

"Let's go home!" were the first words he spoke after excitedly hugging Emma for minutes, telling her how happy he was that she had returned.

Emma looked at David questioningly. What did Henry mean with 'home'? They were in Regina's _living room_! If this wasn't home to him anymore, what the hell was?

"Henry has been staying in your apartment with me," he elaborated. Emma simply nodded. That didn't sound right. Sure Regina was a bitch and she'd cursed half the Enchanted Forest to some land without magic, but she was still a fit mother. She'd always cared for Henry so why did David feel that had to change?

"Yeah, he's been teaching me how to be a good knight, I'll show you when we get there!" Henry was really excited and it made Emma smile. But there was a hint of worry in her smile, too.

Regina had secluded herself from the happy family reunion. She had been there to watch Henry run into Emma's arms like it was what he'd been waiting for all his life and that was about as much as she could take. It killed her to see it, knowing Henry wouldn't give two shits if it had been her who was sucked into some hat and to another world nobody even knew existed.

She'd gone to her office and gotten herself a glass of cider. Hearing Henry refer to Emma's apartment, _Snow's_ apartment as 'home' tore her up. That was it then. This was nothing to him anymore. His childhood home meant nothing. _She_ meant nothing.

When she took the first sip from her second glass of cider she heard a soft knock on the door. She pointedly ignored it but after another try it opened anyways. Emma entered the room, looking nervous as hell.

"Regina," she said, in an almost-whisper.

"Miss Swan," Regina acknowledged her presence but didn't add any more to that.

"Right.." Emma soon found herself blushing. "Listen, I wanted to thank you… for getting us back," she explained.

"I did it for my son." Regina looked up, trying to maintain the mask she'd been wearing for so long she didn't really remember what she looked like without it.

"I missed you, too, Regina," Emma said, smiling and winking teasingly. She knew she should be angry with this woman, she was the reason she was in this situation in the first place. She had no business joking with her, winking at her. But she found she couldn't be as angry with the broken woman in front of her as she probably should have been.

"Yes, well…" Regina tried her best to suppress the grin that found its way to her face but soon felt a small smile tug on the corners of her lips.

"I think we're gonna go now," Emma said, breaking the slightly awkward silence. "Should I bring Henry over tomorrow?"

For a second Regina looked hopeful, thinking that perhaps, after all this, her boy would want to spend time with her again. That perhaps he could forgive her. Love her again.

"If he wishes it," she said, shrugging off the fleeting moment of happiness she almost allowed herself to have. Henry wouldn't want to. He hated her. He would always hate her.

Emma smiled sympathetically. She had no idea what had been going on since she and Snow fell through the hat but she had a feeling it hadn't been much good.

"I'll be over tomorrow anyway, we probably need to talk about some things."

Regina nodded but didn't say anything.

Emma took a few steps to the door but right before leaving the room turned around, "I'll talk to him, Regina," she promised.

When Emma had closed the door behind her Regina allowed herself a smile. She wouldn't admit it, she'd never even think it again after tonight, but she _had_ sort of missed Emma. And secretly she was happy the stubborn blond was back.

Henry hadn't stopped talking on the way over to their apartment. He told Emma about the sword fighting he was working on with his grandfather and about the horse Charming had gotten him. Then he told Emma the story of how Belle was kidnapped and Charming had to rescue her from the mines. How Charming had been working with the dwarves to find fairy dust. How Ruby had turned into a wolf and Charming had to lock her up to keep the townspeople safe. How he helped bring Jefferson and his daughter back together, the thought of whom still managed to make Emma's skin crawl; she hadn't forgotten the whole kidnapping thing quite yet.

He had so many stories to tell and Emma couldn't help but notice how Regina wasn't in any of them. It was like she didn't exist anymore. Like she just was. In her house. Quiet. It was almost like Henry hadn't seen her since the wraith thing. It made Emma feel a little sad.

Before the breaking of the curse she had been working on a way to get Henry away from Regina. She hated the woman. But now that he _was_ away from her and in the apartment with her, she felt bad about it. She felt guilty. Regina didn't deserve this. Sure, she was a bitch but she was the woman who had raised her kid when she couldn't and wouldn't. And now that she, Emma Swan, had come in Henry's life the woman who made her little boy the way he was didn't matter anymore to him.

When they got inside, planted themselves on the couch enjoying a cup of hot cocoa that Charming had whipped up for them, Emma asked him about it.

"Why didn't you say goodbye to your mom back there?"

Henry looked confused. "You're my mom," he answered.

Emma frowned, feeling bad for Regina, something she thought she'd never feel. "Henry…"

She looked at the people she now knew were her parents, silently begging them for help. When neither said anything she knew she wasn't going to get any. This was what being a parent was about… and she'd have to do it herself.

"However bad you think she is, Henry… there's more to her than just that," Emma said, not quite knowing how to finish the sentence. "Your mom loves you."

Henry looked at her, his face emotionless. "She's evil Emma. Just because she brought you back doesn't erase all the bad things she did."

"But all the bad things don't erase the good things she did either!" Emma didn't want to be angry with the little boy. He was just that, a little boy. A kid who had been dragged into this whole fairy tale mess that she didn't still didn't understand. But Regina was his mother. And as much as Emma wanted to keep the little boy to herself, raise him, make him happy, that was something she couldn't deny any longer.

"Henry, she wasn't born evil," Emma said, looking at him seriously. She could tell by the way he was looking at her, his grandparents and basically every other ornament in the room that he didn't want to talk about this. He just got his mother back and he wanted to talk about the cool stuff, not his mom. Not the Evil Queen.

"It doesn't matter. She killed people and she's evil."

'That was just it, wasn't it?' Emma thought. Emma had always thought of evil as a subjective thing. Everyone had their own definition of evil. And despite her knowledge of the horrible things Regina had done, the hearts she had ripped from innocent people's chests, she wasn't sure if she could think of Regina as truly evil. Circumstances had made her what she was. How much of a chance did she ever stand, really?

"I met her mother, Henry," Emma said. "She tried to kill Snow and me. She wanted to go back here so she could find you and Regina." Emma hadn't planned to actually tell him about Cora. She had thought it unnecessary to scare him like that. But she couldn't just stand by and watch her son hate the only mother he'd ever known without him knowing the truth about her.

"Emma…" Snow said, warningly. "You sure you want to tell him this?"

Emma ignored her. She didn't need any motherly advice. She'd managed all these years without it, surely she could talk to her son without needing it.

"Regina's mother made sure your mom had a pretty bad youth, kid," she said, continuing her story as if Snow had never interrupted it. Henry looked at her with big eyes, waiting for more information on things from the other land, which was so intriguing to him.

"She killed the man she loved."

"Daniel," Henry said, thinking back to the man who had tried to kill him at the stables.

"How did you…"

"Let's save that story for another time," David said, not sure this was something Emma needed to concern herself with at this point.

"Fine," Emma never took her eyes from the little boy in front of her who, despite the lack of genes, resembled his mother in so many ways. "Yes, Daniel. She tore out his heart in front of her. Henry, I don't know the entire story but I'm sure it was pretty bad. Nobody just turns 'evil' like your mom did."

Henry was quiet for a moment and Emma didn't want to push him. She was afraid to have already scarred him with the gruesome tale of his grandmother.

"That story isn't in the book," he admitted with a sigh. "I didn't know."

Emma gasped and then rushed forward to put her arms around the kid. She never wanted to make him feel sad or guilty. She just wanted him to think about this and give his mother a chance. Nobody else ever had.

"I know you didn't," Emma said.

Snow smiled at Emma, letting her know she did the right thing by telling him. She hadn't forgiven Regina for any of it, and she wasn't sure she ever would. But even she could admit that Regina wasn't completely responsible for the way she turned out, that her mother was to blame just as much as the woman herself was.

"I do love her," Henry said with a small voice, almost as if he was ashamed of it, "but she's the bad guy and I don't want to be that."

Emma just held him for a second longer, wanting to remember this moment. She then let the boy go and smiled at him.

"Maybe," she started, "if we give her a chance, if we show her that she matters and that people care about her… maybe she doesn't have to be that anymore either."

Henry seemed to mull this thought over in that clever little head of his and then broke out in a huge grin. "I'd like that."


	2. Chapter 2

Regina woke up in an empty house, as she had for weeks now. The silence still unsettled her. Though she had always reprimanded him for it, she missed the sound of Henry running around the house. She missed the sound of his spoon clanging against his bowl as he ate his cereal. She even missed the damn book and his insults.

She tried very hard not to cry, she had cried far too often these past few weeks. Henry was gone, she was just going to have to accept that. He had his new mother and new grandparents now.

The worst part was that Regina felt she couldn't blame him, really. She wouldn't want to be with her, either. So why would Henry? She didn't deserve him. She had known that when she adopted him, but regardless of that fact she had never expected him to hate her this much.

Regina quietly made her breakfast and sat at her large dinner table. She tried not to think too much about things. She didn't want to consider what Emma's return would mean for the town. She wondered how long it would take for people to come knocking and demanding she create another portal so they could return home. She was sure word of her bringing Emma and Snow back would get out soon enough, it was only a matter of time.

After breakfast she heard a knock on the door. _Well that was sooner than expected,_ she thought, frowning a little. She really wasn't up to using that much magic this early in the morning.

Regina opened the door and was genuinely surprised when she saw who had come to her house.

"I told you we'd be coming by," Emma said, looking a tad awkward.

"So you did," was Regina's reply, her eyes never leaving the beautiful face of her beautiful baby boy.

"Hey mom," he said, his voice was uncertain, like he didn't know what he was supposed to do next.

Regina let them in and once inside Emma told Henry to go to his room for a minute so she and Regina could have some time to talk by themselves. He just nodded, smiled awkwardly at his mothers and ran up the stairs. Regina hadn't the strength to tell him not to run in the house. What did it matter now?

Knowing that Emma wanted to talk she led her into the office. There they both took a seat and Regina just waited for Emma to talk. Normally she'd have made a few hurtful comments already, but she just couldn't be bothered. Emma had proven that no matter what she said to her, she wasn't going to leave. She'd come back every time. And no matter how annoying Regina thought it there was something to be said for the blonde's persistence.

"How are you?" Emma asked.

"Fine," Regina snapped, she didn't want to talk about her emotional state, least of all to Emma, the cause of many a heartbreak. "What did you come here for, Sheriff?"

"Back to titles already, Regina?" Emma smiled at her, willing her make a joke or just say anything to lighten the mood.

When Regina didn't say anything Emma continued talking. "My father has been telling me about the things that have been going on while we were away. He…" Emma was uncertain if she was doing the right thing by mentioning this to the woman. Regina was very reserved and she doubted she wanted to talk to Emma about anything. "He also told me about Daniel coming back to life."

Regina's head snapped up in Emma's direction. Initially Emma could see anger and frustration on her face but it changed to sadness and grief. It made Emma's heart ache. She couldn't quite explain it but she didn't want to see Regina look sad. Somehow it just looked plain wrong on her.

"What about it?" Regina snapped. Or tried to, anyway. Her voice didn't have its usual edge to it and it made Emma feel very uncomfortable.

"Regina, I'm sorry that you had to lose him twice," Emma said, genuinely feeling sorry for the ex-mayor.

"How do you…?"

"We ran into your mother, in the other land," Emma blurted out. She hadn't wanted to. Well she did. That's what she'd come here for. Regina needed to know the risks. There was a chance she'd find her way to them and Regina needed to be aware of that. But she had intended to be a little more delicate about it.

The look of fear on Regina's face at the mentioning of her mother made Emma want to cry. Nobody should be this afraid of a parent. Regina least of all. She was the strongest woman Emma knew, seeing her scared, sad and hopeless broke her heart.

"She knows about Henry, Regina. She knows he exists and that he's my son whom I kinda share with you," Emma continued. At seeing a look of pure terror on the dark woman's face it took all of Emma not to scoot a little closer to her and wrap her arms around her, tell her it would be okay. Knowing that the woman would never allow it, Emma stayed where she was.

"We need to keep him safe," Regina said softly, her voice being just over a whisper. "If she finds a way here, we can't let her get to him."

Emma nodded, "we kinda took her only chance of creating a portal away from her, so I don't think she'll ever find another way." Emma shrugged, now placing a hand on Regina's trembling body.

"Regina, calm down, nothing is going to happen. We'll keep Henry safe." Emma turned to Regina and looked her in the eye, "and I'll keep you safe, too. Nothing is going to happen to you. I won't let it."

The sincerity in Emma's eyes threw Regina off. Nobody had ever said anything like that to her. Nobody had cared enough to make sure she'd be alright. And here was this woman, who had taken her son away from her, this woman she was supposed to hate but couldn't.

"Promise?" she found herself asking with a small voice.

"Yes. I promise," Emma's smiling face made Regina smile, too. It was a tiny smile, hardly even there, but it was something.

"Are you done talking?" They heard the young voice of their son come from the door opening.

"Yes, Henry, come sit with us," Regina said, still not believing he was really here.

Henry jumped on the couch and sat in-between his mothers. This made Regina gasp, almost. There was a lot of space on Emma's side of the couch and yet the boy opted to sit next to her. It made her throat feel a little tight and she couldn't help but smile. She wasn't sure what Emma had meant last night, when she said she'd talk to him, but she'd never expected this.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Henry said, not quite looking at her. His voice was soft and honest and it almost made his dark haired mother cry.

"Don't be sorry, Henry," she said. She didn't want him to feel bad about himself, ever.

He turned to her and promptly wrapped his arms around her neck. She hugged him back, hesitantly but with vigor. It had been too long since she'd gotten the chance to hold him, really feel him. She hadn't smelled the scent of him in so long, she had almost forgotten what it was like.

"Emma and I are gonna help you and then you can be on the good side!" it was a whisper in her ear. Almost as if he wasn't supposed to say that, as if it was a secret that he just couldn't keep. He sounded excited and even though she had to wonder if perhaps it was too late for her, it made her smile. Her son made her smile, the goodness of his heart did.

When she looked over his shoulder she found Emma sitting on the couch, still. She was grinning and looked at mother and son with a twinkle of something Regina couldn't describe in her eyes.

"Can I sleep here tomorrow night?" Henry asked, shyly, after pulling back from the hug.

"Of course you can," Regina beamed and felt a tear run down her cheek. She didn't bother wiping it away knowing it would only result in more tears and she didn't want to have a breakdown in front of him.

"Okay! I promised Emma I'd show her my horse now, she will drop me off tomorrow," he said, jumping up from the couch, excited at the prospect of showing off his riding skills to the woman he now considered his mother. "Right, Emma?"

"Right." She stood up, too, and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Go get your stuff," she said and pointed him out the door.

Regina wanted to thank the woman; felt she had to. If not for whatever talk they had last night Henry would still hate her. But not now. Now he wanted to spend the night with her. He wanted to be _alone_ with her.

"You can join us if you like, to the stables," Emma offered before taking a few steps to the door.

Regina shook her head, "no, you should have some alone time with him." She couldn't believe she'd said that but found she meant it.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Emma said, opening the door to the hallway, waving at Regina as a way of saying 'goodbye'.

"Miss- Emma," Regina said quickly, before Emma could really close the door behind her. Her words found the woman opening up the door again and re-entering the room, looking at her smiling and questioningly.

"Thank you," Regina said, looking the other woman in the eye and taking a few steps toward her until they were toe to toe.

"No problem, everybody deserves to be rescued," Emma's voice was soft and earnest.

Before Regina's brain could catch up with her actions she found her lips against those of the blonde's. The kiss was chaste, soft, and full of gratitude.

When it ended Regina was too embarrassed to open her eyes. Only when she felt Emma's cold fingers on her cheek did she, and seeing the sheriff smiling at her made her relax a little.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Emma repeated her words from earlier, kissed Regina's cheek really quickly and left the room, leaving Regina to her thoughts.

Regina just sat back on the sofa and smiled. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with Emma. She wasn't sure if she could handle anything more than what was going on right now, really. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with Henry, either. But he wanted to save her. Emma wanted to save her. Perhaps she could let them try.


	3. Chapter 3

Regina was pulled from sleep suddenly, hearing a furious knocking on the front door. It wasn't until she swung her legs over the edge of the… couch, that she realized she wasn't in her bedroom. Instead she was greeted by the darkness that her home office had to offer.

The next set of knocks, or perhaps they could better be described as bangs, made Regina stand up from the couch, hurriedly check the state of her hair in the mirror, and walk towards the front door.

"I knew you were in," were the words she was greeted with as she swung the door open and came face to face with the woman she still blamed for all that had happened.

"What do you want, Snow?" Regina couldn't find it in her to argue with the woman. It wouldn't accomplish anything, she knew.

Within weeks of their new existence in Storybrooke Regina had found that all the things she previously used to intimidate her subjects didn't work anymore. The only 'scary' thing she had left was her magic and Henry had made her promise not to use it again. And she hadn't. God, it had been difficult, impossible at times, but she hadn't. Without her magic she had no way to get people to do as she liked. She had no power left. Her title as mayor had been taken from her and even though everyone still called her 'the Evil Queen' nobody thought of her as a Queen. There wasn't a threat Regina could make that would scare them now.

"I came to talk to you about Henry and… and Emma," Snow stood tall, even though she really wasn't, and faced Regina bravely, showing no fear. Then again, Snow never had been afraid of Regina.

"What about them, dear?" The mocking pet name was just as meaningless as her threats on people's lives these days. Nobody cared anymore.

"They seem to have gotten it in their heads that they can save you from whatever is wrong with you," Snow said, not backing down when Regina shot a glare in her direction, "don't let them down."

The younger woman's tone told Regina she was serious. Not that she cared a whole lot.

"Anything else?" Her voice was monotonous. She didn't know what to say, really.

She really didn't want to disappoint her son. He had finally found it in his heart to give her a chance of sorts and letting him down was the last thing Regina wanted to do.

Surprisingly, she felt the same way about Emma. A woman who had so many reasons to hate her guts, want her dead, was willing to stick up for her, protect her from the town and help her towards a better life. Normally Regina wouldn't have cared, taken advantage of the situation even… But Emma was different.

"That was it. Emma will be by later to drop Henry off," Snow informed her. "I suggest you cooperate with whatever they're planning, Regina. You've hurt enough people, the least you can do is do as your son asks of you."

"You have no idea what has been going on when you were gone!" Regina hissed. For the past few weeks she had done nothing but what her son asked of her. And here Snow was, pretending to know what she was talking about. "You have no right to judge me." Her voice had changed from indifferent to poisonous. She didn't want to argue with her son's grandmother but it just came so easily to her. It was like being angry with this woman was the only thing Regina knew how to do.

Snow didn't reply to Regina's outburst, no doubt opting to be the 'mature' one in the conversation. Her self-righteousness made Regina want to vomit, it always had.

When the pixie haired woman had turned around and started to leave Regina's property she slammed the door shut, seething on the inside. Who did this woman, this girl, think she was? She had no right to judge Regina. Of all people Snow was the one with the least rights.

It took all of Regina not to throw something against a wall. Despite her anger she knew that Snow had been right. That she'd likely fuck this whole rescue attempt of her son's up before it had even properly started. And she didn't want that.

She wanted to prove to him that she could be good, too. Having him walk into a house in disarray because Regina couldn't keep her temper in check wouldn't help her case.

And then there was Emma, too, to think about. The woman she had kissed the night before. The woman she'd tried so hard to drive out of town but had never left. The one who stayed. The one who actively tried to help Regina. Who had sacrificed herself; fallen into a hat when it should've been Regina. She didn't quite understand it, but Regina didn't want to let her down, either.

"Are you going to be okay, Henry?" Emma fastened her seat belt and started the car. She was proud of the little boy for deciding to spend the night with his mother. Of all the things she had expected him to do this was the last one on the list.

"She won't hurt me," he said. He sounded confident enough. Emma knew he was right; Regina would never hurt him.

They drove in silence, it was a welcome change from the non-stop conversation she'd had to make the past few days. Henry couldn't stop asking her about the fairy tale world; he had wanted to know all about dragons, ogres, giants and when she had mentioned Captain Hook he wanted to know every detail on that, too. Her parents had wanted to know all about her youth, her foster parents, who her friends had been, what school she went to, everything. Her voice was tired from talking so much.

Before she knew it she had parked her car on Regina's driveway and Henry had gotten out of the car, running up the steps to his childhood home. Emma smiled at the carelessness he portrayed. He had grown up too fast. The worries of his mother being the Evil Queen, having to convince his other mother to save them all from a dark curse and then dealing with the aftermath of the breaking of said curse had matured him more than it should have.

Emma couldn't help but lament the fact that he couldn't be like any other 10-year-old. The only things Henry should be worrying about at this age was whether they would win the soccer game or not.

She got out of her bug and followed Henry up the steps and into the house after Regina opened the door for them and told them to come in.

"Can we have pancakes tomorrow morning?" he asked his mother excitedly, "Emma tried making them for me this morning but they were all burnt." He wrinkled his nose and looked at his mother pleadingly, willing her to say yes.

Regina smiled and told him that, sure, she would make him pancakes for breakfast. She also agreed to take him to Granny's for some ice cream after dinner and to let him stay up.

Emma never thought she'd see the day Regina would spoil her child like this, and actually witnessing it made her smile.

"He's so happy to spend the night here," she said softly after Henry had dropped his backpack at the bottom of the stairs and had run upstairs to get some of his favorite comic books.

Regina turned around at hearing Emma's voice over her shoulder, the happiness on the blonde's face brought a slight smile to her face. "I doubt he's that happy about it," she said.

"No, don't think that!" Emma took a step in Regina's direction and put her hand on the woman's shoulder. "He really is excited! He just wants things to be alright again."

They stood like that for a minute or two. Neither of them spoke and after a while Emma had taken her hand away from Regina's shoulder, feeling the pose was a bit awkward.

"Do you think it'll ever be alright again?" Regina asked after the silence that had seemed to just stretch on.

Emma looked contemplative for a second but then nodded, "I think we can get there."

"I hope you're right." And she did. She wanted nothing more than for everything to be alright. She wanted to just be able to sit down in Granny's, order her coffee and not receive hateful stares and judgmental whispers. She wanted to have Henry with her again. She wanted him to come to her at night, after he'd had a nightmare, and ask if he could sleep with her for the night. She had lost her little boy along the way and she'd give anything to have him back again.

"Regina…" Emma sighed, "you can't give up yet. Give it time."

When Regina nodded sadly and trained her eyes on her shoes instead of at Emma's eyes the blonde couldn't resist any longer and protectively wrapped her arms around Regina. "I will make it alright again. Just be patient with me," she promised.

Regina hesitantly wrapped her arms around the taller woman and breathed in the scent of her. She would just have to trust Emma to make it okay. But trust had never come easy to her.

The hug lasted longer than it probably should have but both felt completely at ease with each other. It was a feeling unlike anything Regina had ever experienced before. She had always felt comfortable with Daniel, in his arms, but there was always the danger of her mother finding out. Somehow Regina had never been able to really relax with him. But Emma was different. Regina didn't understand why, but she felt that with Emma she could stop thinking for a second and not be in danger for it.

"Tomorrow I'm picking Henry up," Emma said after pulling back from the embrace.

Regina nodded, suddenly turning sad at the realization that he would leave her again. That this was how it was going to be from now on. If she behaved she'd be allowed time with Henry. Dinner, an hour after school, perhaps a sleep-over every now and then. And when she disappointed him she wouldn't see him for days.

The solution seemed simple then. Don't disappoint him.

"Do you want to join us for lunch tomorrow?" Emma asked, tearing Regina away from her thoughts.

She smiled and nodded, "I'd like that."

"So would I," Emma whispered. She took a step closer to the woman and captured her lips with her own. She knew this was the wrong moment. That Henry was right upstairs and could come down the stairs with a stack of his comics and see them like this.

She knew that she wasn't even supposed to like Regina, let alone kiss her. But she didn't care. She wanted this woman. She wanted to help her, make her happy. She wanted to bring that sparkle back in Regina's eyes. But instead of the sparkle being borne from anger and malice, she wanted it to be from happiness and love. She wanted to make Regina feel loved.

"Tomorrow," Emma whispered against the other woman's lips. "How about I take you to dinner, too? Just the two of us."

She waited for Regina to nod, say yes, or anything to acknowledge her proposal really.

When she looked up she saw a look of adoration in Regina's eyes. It was something she had never expected to see, at least not directed at her, but she enjoyed it immensely.

"Tomorrow." Regina smiled and kissed the sheriff again, feeling she would never tire of the feeling of Emma's lips against her own. It was a happiness she never thought she'd have again.

When they heard a door slam upstairs they stepped away from each other. Emma smiled at Regina and told her she'd pick them up at around noon the next day. Regina nodded in approval and walked with Emma to show her out.

"Have fun, kid!" she yelled up to where she knew Henry was eavesdropping on his mothers.

"Will do!" he replied before running down the stairs, carefully balancing a pile of comics in his arms.

"Come on mom, we haven't read the newest ones yet!" he yelled at Regina before disappearing into the living room.

"Have fun," Emma repeated, this time directing her words at Regina.

"Will do," she said, grinning at Emma, opening the door for the blonde woman to take her leave. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, tomorrow." Emma smiled, winked at Regina and then left for her car. Tomorrow would prove to be very interesting indeed.


	4. Chapter 4

"Did you two have a good time?" Emma asked as soon as the three of them had sat down at a table in the diner.

Ruby had just been by to take their orders and to Emma's surprise Regina had let the boy order something entirely unhealthy without complaining about it. When Emma ordered the same thing Regina had looked at her with a look that said 'stop setting such a bad example for him!' Emma had merely shrugged and let Regina order her salad.

"Yeah," Henry said, far more excited than Emma had ever thought he would be after spending a night with the mother he seemed to hate so much. "Mom told me all about the other world!"

His excitement made Regina's heart swell. It gave her hope. And despite knowing how hoping for a happy ending wasn't something she should indulge herself in she did anyway. If Henry could just love her again… if she could get him back… it would make life so much more worthwhile.

"And she also bought me ice cream last night," he continued, telling Emma all about his night with his mother. Emma enjoyed this far more than she probably should. The feeling of having a family, a _real_ family, was something she had never quite had. And here she was, with her son and his mother, her… girlfriend? Her parents were at home, doing whatever parents did and Emma could call them, talk to them, whenever she wanted to. Never would she have thought this was what her life would turn out to be like.

"That sounds lovely," she said, when Henry finished going over ever insignificant detail of the previous night.

"You know…" he said, looking pointedly at Emma, "I think you should ask my mom to teach you how to cook."

Emma just stuck out her tongue at the little boy.

The whole thing made Regina smile. She just sat back in her chair and enjoyed the banter going on between mother and son.

When they had first entered the diner together they had received quite a few stares and a lot of whispering had been going on. But that all stopped after the three of them had selected a table and called Ruby over. Emma wanted to just yell at everyone when they acted like that. As if it was _impossible_ for anyone to want to spend time with Regina. As if Emma was a bad mother for letting Henry spend time with her. But when Emma had made an attempt to get up and give the townspeople a piece of her mind Regina had just put a hand on her arm and shook her head.

"Henry, I'm leaving you with Snow and David tonight," Emma said, right after he had taken the first bite of his grilled cheese. "I have somewhere to be."

"Can't I come?" he asked, looking up at her with big puppy eyes. Emma hated that look. She'd never been very successful at ignoring it. But tonight was her date with Regina and she wanted to spend it as thus.

"Nope, sorry kid." Emma just smiled at him and he dug back into his sandwich.

Regina looked at Emma with a look of adoration. Emma, unknowingly, returned the look which surprised Regina more than anything. She hadn't received that particular look since Daniel and to get it from Emma made her day.

"Can we go to the stables this afternoon?" Henry asked, wiping his greasy hands on his jeans which earned him a disapproving look from Regina. "James has been teaching how to ride a little but I thought maybe you could teach me more?" He looked at Emma, willing her to say yes.

"Kid, I've never even been on a horse before," Emma said, laughing. She had never been particularly fond of horses. She didn't trust them one bit. They were too damn big, too damn strong and too damn stubborn. Or perhaps she was confusing them with mules now, but who cared really?

"Have you ever ridden a horse?" he directed his question at Regina now, who looked taken aback at his implication.

"Y-yes, yes I have, many times," she answered. He grinned at Emma, "perhaps mom can teach you how to ride a horse, too!"

"Looks like your mom's got a whole lot of teaching to do," Emma grinned right back at him and then smiled at Regina.

"I think she should start by teaching you how to handle a horse properly," she said, giving both of them a chance to say yes and spend an afternoon riding horses.

"Would you?" Henry looked up at his mother, gleeful anticipation visible on his face.

"Of course, dear."

"Good, I kinda have something I want to talk to Snow about anyway, so how about you drop him off at dinner time?" Emma asked Regina, winking at her to suggest that was also when Emma would be joining her and take her to dinner.

Regina agreed and paid the bill. Henry had already made his way to Regina's sleek Mercedes, which she had insisted on driving since she still refused to even touch Emma's bug, and Regina quickly kissed Emma on the lips as a way of saying 'see ya'.

Emma kissed the other woman on the cheek and then jogged off in the direction of her apartment. She'd pick up her bug later.

After some inquiries Emma found out that the only proper restaurant the town had to offer was still in business and placed a reservation there. She hoped Regina liked Italian. Not like the woman had much of a choice, unless she preferred Granny's cheeseburgers and fries which Emma knew wasn't the case.

She had asked her parents to look after Henry for the night which they were eager to say yes to and had already taken a shower. She was going to make tonight count. Emma had long since given up on trying to understand her feeling for Regina and decided to just go with it.

She stood by what she had told Henry a few night before, if they would just show Regina enough love and care perhaps she could be rescued. From herself _and_ the wrath of everyone in town. More than anything Emma wanted to be part of that rescue.

Henry was doing his part. He was doing _more_ than his part, really. Emma knew he didn't really hate his adoptive mother, even though he claimed to. She understood that Henry wanted to be a hero, too, like he thought Emma to be.

He was a child with childish notions of the world around him. His concept or right and wrong was so much more black and white than Emma's was. She got it. And she was happy that he got to spend some time with Regina now. Without the stress of Operation Cobra and his worries over Regina thinking he was crazy he finally got the chance to get to know her. To build the bond a mother and son were supposed to have.

But tonight was Emma's turn. It was her turn to show Regina she mattered and that she was capable of being a good person. Capable of being loved.

Emma wasn't stupid. She could easily see through the mask Regina wore. She knew the woman was afraid of love, or being vulnerable. She knew Regina felt that she didn't deserve to be loved. But Emma also knew that Regina longed for it. More than anything she wanted to feel what she hadn't allowed herself to feel since her fiancé passed.

And so, come dinner time, Emma told Henry to be a good boy and behave and took off with Regina, leaving a confused son and parents behind.

"So Storybrooke doesn't allow for a whole lot of creativity when it comes to dinner places," Emma said as she parked the Mercedes in the parking lot of the restaurant.

"Italian is perfect, Emma," Regina said, smiling up at the blonde as she opened the door and held out her hand for Regina to take.

"How was your afternoon with Henry?" Emma asked after handing the menus back to their waiter.

"It was good… fun." Regina smiled as she thought back to the afternoon. Getting to teach Henry something that had once been so important to her had made her feel truly happy, for the first time in a long time.

"So… do you want me to teach you how to ride?" Regina asked, thinking back to Henry teasing Emma about it earlier.

"Eh…" Emma cringed at the thought… horses _really _weren't her cup of tea. "Do I have to learn?"

"You do if we ever return to the other land," Regina smiled at the thought of it. Emma would be the oddest princess of them all. There was really nothing ladylike about her at all.

Emma stared at the table and mumbled something Regina couldn't hear. "What's that?"

"I said…" she started, "I don't think I want to return there." Emma felt a blush come up.

She felt weird, admitting it. It was where she was born, it was supposed to be her home.

She knew her parents would want to return. She'd seen it in Snow's eyes the entire time they spent there; she felt at ease, she knew how to survive there. It was her home. But not Emma's. And Emma didn't want to go back there. She knew she could adapt to the situation if she tried, she'd adapted to many situations in her lifetime, but she didn't know if she wanted to. Despite its many flaws, she loved this world. She loved indoor plumbing. She loved the internet. She loved her car. Hell, she _loved___burgers. Why would she want to go to some land where she'd instantly turn into some tea-sipping princess? This world was fine. She had no desire to leave it.

"I don't think I want to, either," Regina admitted.

Emma wasn't surprised, what was there for Regina to go back to, really? She wasn't even mayor anymore, no way would she ever be Queen again.

This world was a lot more forgiving than the other one. Once her chivalrous father had figured out a way around the memory loss thing when leaving Storybrooke Regina could just leave and make a life for herself elsewhere. Nobody was going to judge her for being an Evil Queen who had cursed everyone into oblivion. Hell, Regina could probably the new President if she wanted to.

"You don't have to go there, Emma, nobody can force you."

"I finally got my parents back," Emma gave as an argument. And that was really the only thing she worried about. If she hadn't found her parents again she wouldn't even be considering going there permanently.

"Emma, they'll understand."

Emma looked up from the table and into Regina's eyes, they were completely clear from any lie or deceitful notion. Instead they offered comfort and understanding.

"I really don't think they will." She sighed and then smiled at the waiter as he brought them their steamy plates of pasta.

"We could just leave," Emma said. It was a lame move. It was what she always did, running away from the situation.

"We can't. You know that."

"We can. And we'll take Henry with us. Move to New York or something, Henry's never really been to a big city before. Neither have you. You'll like it there," Emma rambled. It seemed like the perfect scenario. They'd move away and live the rest of their lives as a happy family. Henry would find it in his heart to forgive Regina for everything and they could be happy.

"I'd like that," Regina admitted, smiling sweetly at Emma's self-conscious form. "You need to talk to your parents about this. I think they'd rather live in this world, which really isn't all that bad, than lose their daughter again."

The lack of malice in Regina's voice when talking about her parents, the people she hated so much, astounded Emma. Who would've thought…

"I'll talk to them about it."

They ate in a comfortable silence. Here and there one would ask a silly question, about their past, their preferences, their likes and dislikes. They spent the night getting to know each other, like Emma had intended it to go.

After dinner Emma had driven Regina home, walking her to the door where she was generously rewarded for the 'lovely evening'.

When the women let go of each other Regina decided to just ask what she'd been thinking all evening. "Do you really want to be with me?"

Emma looked up, startled. How could Regina still not understand that Emma wanted her? All of her. "Yes, Regina, I want to be with you for a very long time."

Their respective insecurities caused them to laugh simultaneously. Regina wanted to believe Emma, and vowed she would try very hard to. Emma just hoped she wouldn't let the brunette down.

"I'm not an easy person to live with," Regina warned her playfully.

"Oh I know," Emma said, catching on, "but neither am I, we'll be in balance."

They brought their lips together once more and when Regina felt the tip of Emma's tongue against her lips she drew back. "Would you like to come in?"

Emma nodded and quickly followed Regina inside, up the stairs and to their happy ending.

**The End. **


End file.
